So this week's Riva hero is another gorgeous one... the word 'honed' does it for me! ;) Here's Jake, brought to us by the lovely Leah Ashton!!!
Name: Jake Donner
Age: 30
Occupation: Reclusive billionaire software mogul
Vital Stats: 6’1, dark, close-cropped hair, ice blue eyes and a body
honed from rock climbing throughout Sydney’s Blue Mountains
Celebrity Look-a-like: Doesn’t have one – he’s one of a kind :)
White Lie or Absolute Honesty: Honesty, all the way!
Order In or Dine Out: Order in.
Boxers or Briefs: Boxers.
Best known for: Sydney’s most intriguing
billionaire, Jake’s couldn’t care less what people think of him. Spending most
of his time at his private Blue Mountains home, he a geek at heart – he’d much
rather code software than do basically anything else. And don’t try and get him
to wear a suit!
We’d want to date him because… he’s smart, gorgeous and unimpressed by
decoration – he sees the real woman inside :)
“I’m sorry,” he said again,
because it seemed the only thing worth saying.
How
to put thirteen years of absence into words? He hadn’t been noble. He’d been
scared.
“After
I lost mum,” Ella said, “It hurt more than I could ever, ever describe in
words. It left a hole, you know? And then you left, too…”
Her
bottom lip quivered, and emotion hummed in the small room. Part of him was glad
she’d dropped the act, but then this was why he’d left. This depth of emotion.
This loss, this grief.
He
couldn’t process it. He didn’t understand it.
Not
then, and not now.
At
seventeen, he couldn’t handle it. At thirty he couldn’t either. He felt
useless, helpless.
So
he did the only thing he could – with utterly no idea if it would help or
hinder - and he reached for her.
The
space was so small that with one stride he was before her, and a moment later
his arms encircled her.
It
should’ve been awkward, and it was, at first.
Ella
gasped at his touch and stiffened. But almost instantly, her body softened, and
she leant into him. And then it felt the most natural thing in the world.
Against
his bare chest, he felt the wetness of her cheeks.
For
a really, really, long time, they just stood there, Jake watching his hands rub
rhythmically up and down her back in the mirror, as her body shook, ever so
slightly.
Then,
after an age, she turned her face up to him.
“You
shouldn’t have disappeared,” she said.
In
this moment, looking down at her, her mascara smudged, and strands of her long
hair rubbed loose and framing her eyes haphazardly, he agreed with her.
I
should’ve kissed you.
Did
she guess what he was thinking? Maybe, because something changed in their
embrace. His shirtless state – minutes ago so irrelevant – now only added to
the charged atmosphere. He suddenly registered the bite of her nails as they
trailed down his spine.
Then
she licked her lips, and he was lost.
His
arms tightened, and he leant towards her. She moved too, close enough that he
felt her breathing against his lips – quick and shallow.
But
then she was gone.
She
bumped against the mirror behind her in her urgent retreat.
“Thank
you for the apology,” she said. “Appreciate it.”
Her
voice was that faux professional one, and she was using it, as always, to put
distance between them.
Which
certainly wasn’t a bad idea. His brain still felt fuzzy. His body definitely
still wanted to reach for her. To kiss her.
So
distance was good. Necessary.
“So
you’ll try on the suit?” she asked.
The
question was so incongruous, he had to laugh. “Seriously?”
Her
lips curled upwards, although she still had a telltale sheen to her eyes. “I
reckon it’s the least you can do.”
He
nodded. And he knew he’d be wearing the damn thing to the launch, too.
Ella
managed a, brief, victorious smile. But then her expression morphed abruptly
back to deadly serious.
“This
doesn’t change anything, though. I still stand by what I said in that email.
Please don’t let on to anyone that we knew each other. Or even that I lived in
Fremantle. Definitely don’t say anything about my…” She took a deep breath.
“…my mum, either. Okay?”
After
what had just happened – and what had happened all those years ago, he wasn’t
about to deny her this. He nodded.
“But
why? Surely your friends and clients know you’re from Fremantle? And what
school you went to? It wouldn’t be that hard to figure out you used to know
me.”
She
shook her head, the action verging on violent.
“No.
No one knows.”
“Where
you’re from?” he asked, confused. Why would she hide that?
“Exactly.
And that’s how it’s going to stay.”
She dreamed of being a girl less ordinary…
Eleanor had worked hard to transform herself from the sad, lonely girl
she once was. Switching braces for a breathtaking smile, dowdy clothes for
fabulous dresses, and heartbreak for flirty, fun-only dates, she’s now Ella!
But one man can see through her glamour-plating to the real woman beneath.
Fiercely private billionaire Jake Donner has never forgotten Ella, and
he’s shocked to see how she’s changed. Sparks begin to fly as old memories
haunt Ella and Jake – for the innocent attraction they’d once resisted is all
grown up and won’t be denied again…
An unashamed fan of all things happily ever
after, Leah Ashton has been a lifelong reader of romance. Writing came a
little bit later, although in hindsight, she’d been dreaming up stories for as
long as she can remember. Sadly, the most popular boy in school never did
suddenly fall head over heels in love with her…
Now she lives in Perth, Western Australia
with her own real life hero, two gorgeous dogs and the world’s smartest cat. By
day, she works in IT, and by night she considers herself incredibly lucky to be
writing the type of books she loves to read, and to have the opportunity to
share her own characters’ happy ever afters with readers. Find Leah at her website and on Facebook.
1 comment:
Answer - Ella :)
This is the first RIVA cover that I actually like. I guess it has something to do with the colors. This book sounds very intriguing mostly due to the fact that Jake is a geek at heart. How cute is that?! :)
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